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Zora Khyber
Added by EnchantingcatContents |
The Sacred Hermaphrodite
Edit
Name: Zora Khyber.
Series: Middlesex, by Jeffery Eugenides
Canon: from just after Cal left her, end of Book Four, Ch 5. (1976)
Room Number: 2116.
Journal: XY Venus
PB: Bar Rafaeli
Age: Mid-twenties. (I decided she was 26, see below)
Sex: This one is tricky. See section on Hermaphroditism below.
Physical: Blonde, blue-eyed, 6'2"
Sexuality: Prefers lesbians.
The rest of this is unspecified in canon, so most of it is in-my-head, and other fun tidbits!
Birthday: November 22, 1950
Astrological sign: Sagittarius.
Tarot Card: The Moon.
If she had a daemon: a dragonfly.
BackgroundEdit
Zora Khyber is a hermaphrodite. She has a Y chromosome, but also Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, which makes her appear female – indeed, as the feminine ideal. She is 6’2’’ and thin, but shapely, and classically beautiful. She is given to analytical thinking, and is very intellectual.
Zora is working on a book titled The Sacred Hermaphrodite, exploring cultures in which hermaphroditism is celebrated, not shunned. While she could get by easily in society without anyone knowing she is a hermaphrodite, she prefers to tell people. Within the dichotomy of society, she lives life as a woman, but is a lesbian.
Her beauty more than once attracted exactly the wrong sort of guy, and because of this she has a very low opinion of men. Although she not only accepts but embraces her hermaphroditism, she is not whole.
Zora worked for a while at a strip club called Sixty-Niners in San Francisco as the exotic “Melanie the Mermaid”, and spent most of it stoned, drunk, or a combination of the two, to escape. She has a darker side, too: at times she is teeming with violence, raging against men’s views of women, the oppression of women, and the oppression of anything outside the norm.
She believes that hermaphrodites are the future – more evolved, endowed with special gifts. This belief comes from what she has read from the discourses of other cultures. Again and again she finds not two genders, but three: and the third is always revered.
For a while, another hermaphrodite named Cal stayed with her, and she tried to show him how he could live, between genders, and had him read some of what she was writing. He seemed unable to take it all in, though – and he was just a kid. Still, Zora felt closer to him than she had to anyone else in her life. She was glad he had come to live with her, and was sad to see him go after the raid on the Sixty-Niners club.
Mun-fudged:
She's originally from Oregon, and had two younger sisters.
HermaphroditismEdit
- As a note, I am WELL AWARE that the leading term today is "intersex". Zora, however, is from the 70s, which is before the intersex movement, so the term she is most familiar with is "hermaphrodite".
Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS)Edit
(from Wikipedia)
If a 46,XY fetus cannot respond to testosterone or DHT, only the non-androgenic aspects of male development begin to take place: formation of testes, production of testosterone and anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) by the testes, and suppression of müllerian ducts. The testes usually remain in the abdomen, or occasionally move into the inguinal canals but can go no further because there is no scrotum. AMH prevents the uterus and upper vagina from forming. The testes make male amounts of testosterone and DHT but no androgenic sexual differentiation occurs. Most of the prostate and other internal male genital ducts fail to form because of lack of testosterone action. A shallow vagina forms, surrounded by normally-formed labia. Phallic tissue remains small and becomes a clitoris. At birth, a child with CAIS appears to be a typical girl, with no reason to suspect an incongruous karyotype and testosterone level, or lack of uterus.
Puberty tends to begin slightly later than the average for girls. As the hypothalamus and pituitary signal the testes to produce testosterone, amounts more often associated with boys begin to appear in the blood. Some of the testosterone is converted into estradiol, which begins to induce normal breast development. Normal reshaping of the pelvis and redistribution of body fat occurs as in other girls. Little or no pubic hair or other androgenic hair appears. Acne is rare.
As menarche typically occurs about two years after breast development begins, no one usually worries about lack of menstrual periods until a girl reaches 14 or 15 years of age. At that point, an astute physician may suspect the diagnosis just from the breast/hair discrepancy. Diagnosis of complete AIS is confirmed by discovering an adult male testosterone level, 46,XY karotype, and a shallow vagina with no cervix or uterus.
Adult women with CAIS tend to be taller than average, primarily because of their later timing of puberty. Breast development is said to be average to above average. Lack of responsiveness to androgen prevents some usual female adult hair development, including pubic, axillary, upper lip. In contrast, head hair remains fuller than average, without recession of scalp or thinning with age.
- To quote Dr. House (of House MD), the perfect woman... is a man.
In ParadisaEdit
LossesEdit
Permanent: Memories of before she knew what she was - it's as if she's always known.
Temporary joint love loss with Alucard, during the WildWildWest world change plot... during which she also believed she had always lived there.
RelationshipsEdit
Acquaintances:
Cassie: Gave her a partial intro to the castle, and also gets a prize for being the first person to casually mention something that hasn't been invented yet for Zora. (She said the journals were like "instant messaging")
Remy: Her very down to earth approach was comforting, and it was nice for Zora to know that it's not unusual for women to be doctors (and damn good ones, if they know about CAIS) in the future. Ran into her again at the pool, reaction = "and she's also hot".
Numair Salmalín: Seemed nice, but talked waaay too familiarly about magic. And not the stage magician kind. Girl needed a stiff drink. He helped point her in the direction of the library the next day, though.
Freelancer York/Delta: doesn't know his name. doesn't want to. got the distinct impression that he was more interested in the neckline of her kimono-style robe than the book she was reading. Met him again later, at the benefit. A little uncomfortable, perhaps... but mostly harmless.
Bart Allen: spoke about the rain and other things...
Tsukasa Futaba: Spoke about flowers, used the tiny bit of Japanese she knows!
Dalek Caan: told him French Fries weren't French. lol...
Guy Gardner: Didn't catch him name. He was being... heh. And had he not been interrupted, he would have known her wrath.
Ted Kord: Interrupted Guy Gardner. He's... polite. Little chat about life works, basically.
Lady Marian: couldn't resist commenting on her frustrated scream of "MEN!"
Inara Serra: they had a small chat at a table during Jurassic Park plot... she's prity...
Lawrence Kutner: had a talk (good-natured argument?) as they came into Jurassic Park. doesn't know his name yet.
Captain Jack Sparrow: um. wow. she totally digs him, despite the fact that she's not into men? 0.o?
Leah Clearwater: girl's neat... had a "wow, it would be awesome to live when you do" chat.
Friends:
Ianto Jones: Told him about Kona coffee, and he made her tea! Talked for like EVER. And then again during toddler times!
Chizuru: =) Lesbian sisters, unite! And even if she's a bit young to date, she's just so adorable.
Alucard: met him while working on her book. He was reading, too, and seemed nice. Comforting... despite his gender. A little too reserved, perhaps. And then they went on a joint love loss~! They're friends. ^^
Barney Stinson: met him at his cookout... and he hit on her, but not crudely or awkwardly, so she's all "what the heck, *shrug*". And may have just okayed a hook-up if he ever has a gender swap loss? And now she's seen him around a bit more. He's amusing at the very least, even if he does have a need to hit on compliment her whenever she's slightly dressed up. But really, he's a friend.
Other:
Olive: her child, also intersex, during the toddler plot.
PlayerEdit
Name: Aleja.
Email: enchanting.catalyst (at) gmail.com
AIM: enchantingcat007
Timezone: GMT+1
Concrit post: here.
CR Ideas post: here.
Other Characters: Risika, Arwen Undómiel, Lyra Belacqua and Pantalaimon, Bellatrix Lestrange
